


The Rising Sun

by Frosty_7



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Character Development, F/F, F/M, Ursa is the blue spirit, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25294606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frosty_7/pseuds/Frosty_7
Summary: By chance, Ursa, Princess of the Fire Nation and daughter of Fire Lord Izumi, is in the Earth Queen’s palace when Avatar Korra arrives to search for airbenders.
Relationships: Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Eventual Mako/Izumi's daughter, Iroh II (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s), Korra/Asami Sato, Mako (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first story! I wrote this story out of a desire to know what Izumi's daughter would be like--and to explore the LoK universe more in depth. There were a lot of characters in ATLA who we never got to see in LoK, and I also wanted to explore some of their stories through this one. Ursa, in this story, will tag-along for some of Team Avatar's adventures. However, she will also have journeys of her own. I hope to also explore the three year period between season 3 and season 4 in depth:)

While eating dinner, Ursa contemplated murder. For the last five days that she had been in Ba Sing Se, it had been a constant thrum in the back of her mind, and it made her fingers twitch slightly now, as she suffered through the Earth Queen’s presence. 

“Utterly disgraceful--this food is disgusting! Fire the chef immediately. Who does he think I am to accept food like this? The Fire Lord?” The Earth Queen screamed. Ursa’s eye twitched. Her mother had sent her with Ambassador Choi as a sign of goodwill, to bolster diplomatic relations between the two nations--but Ursa was beginning to think it was better to let some bridges burn. 

And to think--her older brother Roku had almost been sent in her place. Mother had changed her mind at the last moment, deciding that Ursa’s temper was far less volatile than her brother’s, and that she was a far safer bet to send. It was certainly a wise decision--Ursa was reasonably sure that Roku would’ve burned the Queen’s palace to the ground by now--but even Ursa’s temper had a fuse, and it was beginning to run short. 

Since the moment she had arrived, the Earth Queen had not even attempted to be diplomatic, often making snide remarks about Ambassador Choi, Ursa, the Fire Nation, her Grandfather, her oldest brother’s choice in career, and her mother. Truthfully, Ursa had always considered Choi to be a bit too much of a stickler for rules--but in the time she had spent with the old man at the palace, her respect for him had grown exponentially. If she had to deal with the Earth Queen for the rest of her life--well, she certainly couldn’t begrudge the man his quirks.

However, Ursa could tell that Choi was getting worried about her. She figured Choi was worried about what she might do once she lost her temper entirely. Thus, back to the murder at hand. There were five Dai Li guards that were present in the room, so it was reasonable to assume that there were twice that number that Ursa could not see. But she wasn’t worried about them--her great-aunt Azula had told her that all the Dai Li were incompetent sheep that would jump the fence at the first sign of power. Ursa would show them power.

A blast of lightning would take out Hou-Ting. Ursa had long mastered bending lightning with minimal movements, so by the time anyone noticed anything strange, it would be all over for the Queen. But would lightning be a satisfying death? Perhaps fire would be better--but that was cruel. And the fallout--even if she escaped, news of what she had done would reach the Fire Nation quickly. The Earth Kingdom would likely declare war, usurping the peace that her family had worked so tirelessly to cement and--Ursa let out a long sigh. No, it simply would not do.

“Tired, Princess?” Choi asked, giving her a knowing look as the Earth Queen scoffed.

“Tired. People of the Fire Nation have such weak constitutions. Pathetic. It must be all that smoke inhalation.”

Ursa ground her teeth together, standing up in one swift movement. “Actually, I am. Goodnight, Majesty, Choi. I shall see you in the morning.” She strode away from the table, noting irritably that two of the Dai Li had slunk out of the shadows to follow her to her room. Only two? The Dai Li most definitely saw her as a pathetic weakling, then. But, there was value in being underestimated.

At her room stood two imperial firebenders, Biyu and Akari. Ursa had known both women since she was a little girl. They nodded at her as she entered her room. Ursa allowed herself a smile once she entered the room, free at last from the Earth Queen’s company, before changing into her nightwear and slipping into bed. She could only hope that tomorrow would be a better day.

()

The Earth Queen watched the construction of her garden with a scowl. Ursa, on the other hand, smiled to look upon it. She had always been fond of turtle ducks, and though the massive topiary was far gaudier than anything she preferred, it was still far nicer to look at than the woman next to her. 

“About the import tax--” Ursa began, eager to get started on official business.

“How can I be expected to concentrate on shaping my garden when people insist on speaking to me?” The Earth Queen demanded, ignoring Ursa completely. 

Ursa narrowed her eyes, scowling, as Choi gave her a warning glare. She was no queen, but she was royalty, and here as a diplomat--which at the very least required some respect to be given to her. “You are not shaping the garden--” Ursa began, fully ready to tear into the queen.

Just then, Grand Secretariat Gun entered, as timely as ever, with a girl who was clearly from one of the Water Tribes following behind him. “Your Majesty, Princess Ursa, Ambassador, may I present Avatar Korra.”

The Avatar? What a pleasant surprise. As she bowed, Ursa took a step forward, smiling benevolently. “A pleasure to meet--”

“You're ruining the koi pond! It's completely overshadowed by the topiaries! Guards, take that buffoon away and get me someone who knows what they're doing!” The Earth Queen bellowed. She had not even turned.

Ursa bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, refusing to be anything less than perfectly diplomatic in the Avatar’s presence. 

“I am surrounded by idiots.” Hou-Ting turned to face Korra. “So, I finally get a visit from the Avatar. Let me guess, you want something.”

“Well, actually Your Majesty, I was hoping you could…”

“I hardly think you're in a position to ask me for favors after everything the last Avatar did to the Earth Kingdom. He and Fire Lord Zuko took advantage of my father's weakness and stole our lands to make their own little empire.” She turned to glare at Ursa. “The United Republic is Earth Kingdom territory!”

Ursa could not keep her mouth shut at this. “First of all, if I were you, Your Majesty, I would refrain from making baseless accusations about the men who helped to liberate my kingdom. Secondly, I would like to remind you that the land on which Republic City stands is the land of former Fire Nation colonies, and while I in no way support the actions taken by my predecessors to gain that land, it would be foolish to deny the lasting consequences of the conquest. That is, members of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom lived together in those colonies peacefully for years, developing their own cultures, and in handing that land back to the Earth Kingdom, it would have only subjected them to more strife and cultural differences. Thirdly,” Ursa dropped her voice, stepping towards the queen. “I would like to remind you that my great-aunt conquered this city with her two friends at the age of fourteen. I am almost twenty.”

Hou-Ting narrowed her eyes. “Is that a threat?” It was the first time the woman had addressed her directly. Ursa tensed, waiting for her to move. She would not attack first, but she could hardly be faulted for defending herself--

Choi cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should hear what the Avatar has come here to say?”

“Excellent idea,” Gun said hurriedly.

“Um...the reason for our visit is that we're trying to gather all of the new airbenders who are popping up in the Earth Kingdom, and we'd like your help finding the ones in Ba Sing Se.” The Avatar said, looking awkward.

“Airbenders in Ba Sing Se. Where did you hear that?” The queen said skeptically. 

Ursa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Airbenders were appearing everywhere--and Ba Sing Se was massive. It was simple logic that there would be airbenders in the city. 

“Before we left Republic City we got some reports.”

“Hmm. Well, before I even consider helping you, I'll need you to do something for me.” At this, Ursa was unable to hold back an incredulous scoff. Choi gave her another warning glare.

“Of course. What is it?”

“I have a vault full of tax money sitting in a town south of here. Barbarians have stolen my past two shipments. Go collect my money and bring it back here.” 

“You want to use the Avatar as your personal tax collector? You have completely--”

“The princess will go with you, Avatar, if you would permit it.” Choi interjected. 

“I will?” Ursa snapped, rounding on Choi.

“Yes, I believe a change in scenery would be...good for you, princess. You did speak of wanting to visit more of the city, did you not?”

Ursa was more than ready to leave the Earth Queen, but she also felt guilty for abandoning Choi--and for beginning to lose her temper. “Yes...I suppose I did.” The Earth Queen shot her a smug glance. 

“Uh...that’s fine by me.” Korra said, giving Ursa a wary look. Ursa sighed, wanting desperately to drop her head in her hands--her first meeting with the Avatar had gone nothing like it was supposed to.

()

“Are you sure we shouldn't have brought more people to collect the tax money?” Asami asked, frowning. 

“There are royal guards waiting at the vault. I doubt anything will happen. I think Her Majesty likes ordering me around.”

“Hou-Ting thinks being Earth Queen means she actually rules over the entire earth,” Ursa threw in, rolling her eyes. “That woman gives royalty everywhere a poor name. Should you come to the Fire Nation to look for airbenders, I promise my mother would never assign such ridiculous tasks to you.”

Korra and Asami exchanged looks, obviously unsure what to think of her. Ursa figured that the presence of Biyu and Akari played a part in their hesitance. Though Ursa had decided to remove her headpiece before boarding the airship, the imperial firebenders were not as easy to leave behind. “Good to know.” Korra said finally. “What’s it like being a princess?”

“It’s usually quite lovely. What’s it like being the Avatar?”

“Not so bad, most of the time…hey look! I think that’s where we land.” Asami landed the airship gently. The town was utterly deserted, and as they walked closer to the pickup point, Ursa noted that people were ducking down at the sight of them. 

“I don’t like the looks of this,” Korra admitted. “Let’s hurry up and get out of here.”

As they neared the gates of the bank, the doors swung open, revealing an Earth Kingdom guard. “You here to pick up the shipment?”

“Go ahead and load it on the ship.”

As the guards moved out, a red light appeared in the sky, and armed men on motorcycles jumped out from behind the buildings, causing the guards to drop the bags of gold and run away in fear. 

“Stay close Princess,” Biyu ordered. However, Ursa was itching for a fight. She hadn’t used her bending beyond the privacy of her rooms in the palace lest the queen feel threatened for days, and her fire was rising to match the excitement pumping through her blood even now. 

“So much for our escorts,” Asami snorted.

“Maybe we should’ve brought everyone else,” Korra muttered.

“I think we’ll be just fine,” Ursa said confidently. Once again, Korra and Asami exchanged looks. 

A man wearing face paint, with half his hair dyed green, stepped forward. “Step away from the gold ladies, and you won’t get hurt.” Biyu and Akari pressed closer to Ursa.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but we’re taking this gold back to Ba Sing Se.” Korra said firmly.

The man shrugged, “Awww, we love gals with spirit. Suit yourself.”

“Wait!” Ursa stepped forward, years of diplomatic training ingrained in her brain. “Are you sure we can’t settle on a peaceful compromise? There’s no need to resort to violence.”

The man laughed. “No can do beautiful.” He said, stepping closer. He swung at her, and Ursa ducked as Korra earthbended the man away. Oh well. She had tried. With a smirk, Ursa allowed her fire to flow to her fingertips.

Beside her, Biyu and Akari were shooting fire at the barbarians, but they had gotten farther away in the commotion, leaving her open for attack. One of the barbarians sped towards her on his motorcycle, club raised with malicious intent. 

“Watch out princess!” The Avatar yelled, but Ursa had been waiting for this moment. With a wave of her arms, she summoned a whip of fire, using it to yank at the wheel of the motorcycle, throwing the man off. 

“Blue Fire? What in the name of Shu…” But Ursa did not give him the chance to finish, quickly knocking him out with a blow to the head. 

Asami and Korra stared at her in shock. “Left,” Ursa ordered them, blasting another motorcycle away. She was careful to not directly aim for the men with her fire--they were non-benders, and would be unable to defend themselves from the burn. 

The fight ended a few seconds later, with the men quickly retreating. “Retreat, retreat!” The leader roared. “You're on the wrong side of this fight, Avatar. That gold belongs to the people, not the Queen.”

It was a textbook response from a vigilante, but Ursa still felt a rising sense of dismay as she thought about the gold-tipped roofs on the queen’s palace, and the opulent decor. She worried that the man was right. A visit to the Lower Ring was long overdue--she needed to see the truth of the situation for herself.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, after dinner, this time with the Avatar and Master Tenzin and his family, Ursa slipped to her room early, delighted as she was to see them again. As a little girl, she had enjoyed hearing tales of her Grandfather’s adventures as the Blue Spirit, and she often made him recount the tale of rescuing the Avatar’s bison to this day. A year ago, she had purchased a Blue Spirit mask for herself as a gag gift, and for a reason unknown to her at the time, she had packed it with her things for Ba Sing Se. 

Now, she knew why. She quickly dressed in baggy, all black clothing, slipping on the mask. She hesitated in front of the mirror for a moment before grabbing a sheath of stilettos and throwing knives--all platinum. She didn’t expect trouble--but it was still good to be prepared. Her grandfather had always used dual dao blades as the Blue Spirit, but Ursa preferred her grandmother’s choice in weaponry instead. 

Her bending was far too distinctive to be used--tales of what she had done while collecting taxes had obviously reached the Dai Li, and despite it being a relatively small display of power, five of them had shadowed her to her rooms tonight. There were few firebenders in Ba SIng Se. Her distinctive bending as well as her ill-concealed threat to the Earth Queen earlier in the day had probably reminded the Dai Li of her great-aunt.

With a sigh, Ursa braced herself on the windowsill, before swinging herself up and climbing to the roof of the building. Ursa slipped twice and nearly fell, but managed to make it to the top. After years of using her firebending to propel herself into the air, her climbing skills were sorely underused. 

With a grimace, Ursa walked to the edge of the building, careful to avoid being sighted by the Dai Li guards. Then, after taking a deep breath, she ran in the direction of the next building, leaping off of the one she was on and onto the next, until she reached the wall that separated the Middle Ring from the Upper Ring. She felt for hairline cracks in the wall. Unsurprisingly, few were large enough for her to get a proper grip with her fingers--but most were just wide enough for the blade of a knife to slip through.

Ursa jammed a throwing knife into one of the cracks, boosting herself up before yanking it out and shoving it back in. After far too long, she made it to the top of the wall, before taking off in the direction of the Lower Ring. The first thing she noticed after climbing to the top of the wall bordering it was the stench. 

Ursa bit back a gag, lifting her sleeve to her nose before remembering the mask she wore. She leapt onto the roof of another building, coughing slightly into her shoulder. 

Loud shouts drew Ursa’s attention, and she crept to the edge of the roof to get a better look at what was happening below. It seemed to be an organized protest--there must have been at least a hundred people facing off against thirty Dai Li.

“Where have you taken my daughter?” One woman demanded, a baby in her arms.

“What has the queen done with my son?” An old man yelled.

The queen was taking people? What purpose could she possibly have to--suddenly, an icy sensation crept up the back of her neck as she recalled what Korra had said after coming back from a meeting with the queen:

“She said that the Dai Li have been searching, but there are no airbenders in Ba Sing Se. Something isn’t right.”

The very thought of it sickened Ursa, but could it be…

As if answering her suspicions, a woman cried, “My son is a child, airbender or no. He’s only four! Too young to fight in any army. Please, bring him back.”

The crowd rallied around her as the Dai Li took up defensive stances. “We have warned you to disband. Now, you shall face the consequences.”

Ursa hesitated, clinging to the side of the building with white knuckles before relaxing. She hadn’t come here for a fight. Only information, which she had gotten. She had no responsibility to these people, yet...as the Dai Li encircled the people, herding them together, Ursa knew she would be unable to simply leave. 

The knives left her fingers hardly a second later, pinning two of the Dai Li to the wall. Ursa swung down from the building, doing her best to dodge the rocks that were being hurled at her by their companions. 

One old woman stared at her in shock. “Is that...the Blue Spirit?” She gasped.

“Heck yeah!” A boy who looked to be around her age drew a club from his back. “REVOLT!” He yelled, jumping at the Dai Li. Several members of the crowd followed. Ursa landed lightly on the ground, flipping up and over a rock hurled towards her by the Dai Li. 

Before her grandmother had passed away five years ago, every year, she would take Ursa with her to Kyoshi, to visit her two closest friends. On Kyoshi, Ursa had had the privilege of training with the Kyoshi Warriors, by request of her grandmother--and though she had often lost brutally to them in hand to hand combat, her skills had greatly improved since the time she had first visited the island. But she hadn’t visited Kyoshi since her grandmother’s death, and she was terribly rusty. 

Ursa landed on the ground and pinned two other agents to the wall, jabbing her hand into their necks to make them fall unconscious, before pulling her blades out of the wall.

“More Dai Li are on their way!” Someone yelled. “Retreat!” 

The crowd began to run in the opposite direction, jostling Ursa along. If she tried to make it to the rooftops now, she knew she would stick out like a sore thumb. But where could she go? A small hand grabbed hers, and Ursa looked down to see a little girl of about ten staring up at her with wide eyes. “Follow me!” She urged. 

Left with no options, Ursa followed her. The girl slipped into an alley, looking left and right carefully, before pushing a filthy smelling dumpster aside to reveal a blank wall. She rapped on the door. “It’s Meng. Let me in!” She hissed.

After a moment, the wall slid open, revealing a boy of about sixteen with his arms raised. He raised an eyebrow at Meng. “No need to be so impatient,” he said with a snort. His eyes widened as they caught sight of her. “You brought the Blue Spirit? Oh man, Ryu’s gonna want to see this. You’d better come in.” He stepped aside to let Meng through. Ursa hesitated at the door. “Look, the Dai Li are going to be out there for at least another hour or two--if not the whole night. You stay outside, and you’ll get found.”

With a nod, Ursa stepped through the wall, watching warily as the boy sealed it shut behind her. There were steps descending from the doorway into the darkness below. Meng had already begun to climb down, and she gestured for Ursa to do the same. Ursa followed, mindful of the boy behind her. 

As they descended, Ursa noticed doors embedded into the walls, and heads peeking from them, that immediately ducked back inside after she turned to face them. Finally, they reached the end of the stairs, which ended in a cavernous chamber, which seemed to be the end of several other staircases. 

If she really needed to, Ursa figured she could blast open the wall the same way that they had come. Of course, that would reveal who she was--but, she doubted these children knew who the Fire Princess was--or even cared, for that matter.

“Well, well. What have we here?” It was the boy who had yelled revolt at the protest. “The Blue Spirit, eh? I appreciate your help. Not sure what would’ve happened without you there.” He held out his hand for Ursa to shake. Ursa hesitated before taking it. 

“Name’s Ryu.” He spread his arms wide. “Welcome to where the rebels of Ba Sing Se stay.”

He looked at her expectantly, obviously expecting a reply, but Ursa remained silent. “Ah, I see.” He looked contemplative for a moment. “Gotta keep the mysterious persona, huh? Don’t worry, I get it. I’m pretty mysterious myself. Guys like us--you know how it is.” 

Ursa smiled beneath her mask. Ryu thought she was a man? That was...hilarious, actually.

“Stop pestering the spirit, Ryu.” An old woman stepped out from the shadows, bowing to Ursa formally. “Thank you for your assistance today, Blue Spirit. It was foolish to protest so openly.” She shot the boy a glare. “When I heard the news, I worried that my grandson had bit off more than he could chew.”

“They took Bohai!” Ryu protested. “What was I supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to let me come up with a plan before running off and attempting to get yourself killed! How do you expect to save your younger brother buried in the ground?” The woman snapped.

Ryu’s shoulders slumped. “Sorry grandmother. It’s just--I can’t do nothing.”

The woman patted Ryu’s shoulder. “There, there. I know.” She turned to Ursa. “You can stay here until it's safe to leave. I assume you have places to be in the morning.” She turned away, pausing before saying, “If you ever have need of us--ask for me at the teashop nearby. My name is Jin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I envision this Jin to be the one Zuko met in Ba Sing Se. In the coming chapters, we'll also see the reappearance of another old character...


	3. Chapter 3

Loud knocking woke Ursa from her sleep. “Princess, are you alright?” It was Choi. “Breakfast is over, and I believe the Avatar has asked for you--”

Ursa jolted out of bed, memories of last night rushing into her brain. “Yes, yes. Give me a minute Choi!” In what was surely the fastest amount of time that it had ever taken a princess to dress, Ursa threw on her robes, yanking half her hair into a topknot and securing it with her flame headpiece. She threw open the door, startling poor Choi.

“That actually might have been a minute--Princess, where are you going?” Ursa had already taken off down the hall at a brisk pace.

“My apologies, Choi--we will speak further at lunch, I swear. I have much to tell you.” Ursa called over her shoulder, not breaking her stride. 

By the time she made it to the courtyard, Korra and Asami were with two other boys, one of whom collapsed on the ground in front of Ursa’s eyes.

“Good morning Korra, Asami. Is...your friend well?” She directed this question to the boy’s companion, who was clearly Fire Nation. He stared at her with wide eyes for a few moments, unresponsive.

“Ahhhh,” The boy on the ground squeaked. “Are--are you the--the Fire Princess? Granddaughter of Lord Zuko and--”

“Daughter of the Fire Lord? The one and only.”

The boy on the ground made a strange warbling noise, while his companion, who looked Fire Nation, slowly reddened. “It’s a pleasure--I mean it’s really nice to--not that I expected--to meet you?” He finished awkwardly, 

“Pleasure,” Ursa said dryly. “Anyways, I trust that they can be trusted?” She questioned, turning to Korra. 

“Huh?” Korra looked amused. “Oh yeah, sure. They’re the other half of team Avatar.”

Ursa grimaced, “Wonderful...anyways, I have important news to share. Yesterday night, I found out that the Earth Queen has been capturing airbenders to serve in her own personal army--”

“That’s what we found out too!” The boy had gotten off of the ground. “I’m Bolin, by the way, and this is my brother Mako.” Bolin looked as if he belonged in the Earth Kingdom--Mako, on the other hand, was clearly Fire Nation. That must mean--

“So you’re from Republic City? Wonderful. I’m Ursa--Princess Ursa I suppose, but only in formal situations.” 

Korra looked horrified. “She was lying. I knew it! I swear, the next time I see her--”

“She’s here,” Asami whispered.

Ursa rearranged her face into a blank expression, noting with disgust that the Earth Queen was being carried to see them on a palanquin, despite the courtyard being at most fifty paces from the main palace. 

“Good. You're here. Gun, tell them the news.” The Earth Queen did not even bother to greet them.

“We've received word from the Yang Province. There have been reports of airbenders there.” The man said.

“Wonderful, isn’t it? It’s the very thing you’ve been looking for.” Hou-Ting said flatly.

“Thank you! That is just the most wonderful news. Ever. Yay.” Korra muttered sarcastically. 

“Anyway, if you need any assistance packing, let Gun know. He'll see to it that you're on your way by evening.”

“Uh--” Korra began.

“Our airship is having trouble. It’ll take me until tomorrow to finish the repairs.” Asami interjected.

The five of them walked to the Avatar’s quarters. Ursa remained silent as the four of them slipped into easy camaraderie, doing her best to not show the awkwardness that she felt. Was this how her grandfather had felt when he had first joined the Avatar’s group?

Mako awkwardly cleared his throat next to her. “Nice weather,” he commented.

“I suppose,” Ursa said dubiously, then winced. He had obviously been trying to make conversation, pathetic as it was, perhaps noticing her awkwardness. “What is it you do in Republic City? I mean, besides assisting the Avatar.”

“Well,” He puffed out his chest. “I’m actually a detective for the Republic City Police Force. Before that, I was a pro-bender. Captain of the Fire Ferrets, actually.”

The first part of his statement caught Ursa’s attention. “Detective, really? You must be my age or close...impressive. I suppose you work under Chief Beifong then?”

“Uh...yeah. Do you know her?”

“She’s an old family friend. My mother is good friends with her, and I always make sure to pay her a visit whenever I’m in Republic City.” It was obvious Mako wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation, so he merely gave her a short nod before falling into step beside her. Ursa appreciated the gesture, though it was unnecessary. 

()

“I can’t believe the Earth Queen is conscripting airbenders for her army,” Tenzin paced the length of the room angrily.

“What if Kai was spotted airbending? He might have been taken away too.” Jinora said worriedly. 

“Kai is an airbender we picked up on the way here,” Asami whispered in Ursa’s ear. Ursa smiled at her in thanks.

“Don’t worry Jinora. We’ll find him. We just need to figure out where to look.”

“I bet they're under Lake Laogai.” Mako announced, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. “What? I've been reading some of Jinora's books. The old Dai Li agents used to have a secret fortress beneath the lake.”

“That’s right. I remember asking my grandfather to tell me the story of how he rescued Avatar Aang’s bison a hundred times--he was held captive there.” Ursa put in.

“I know how to check it out without being caught. I can project my spirit into it!” Jinora cried excitedly.

“Excuse me--I should probably go tell Ambassador Choi where I am. I promised to meet him at lunch--I think I should share what’s been going on with the airbenders with him as well.” Ursa admitted.

“Of course,” Tenzin rose. “Do you need an escort, Princess?”

Ursa waved her hand dismissively, “It’s only a short walk back to the palace. Besides, I have…” Ursa trailed off, suddenly realizing that Biyu and Akari were missing. In fact, they’d been missing since the morning--normally, they took shifts guarding her door. In the hurry of the morning, Ursa had not noticed their absence. She felt a stab of guilt, but could not quell the rising suspicion in her gut. “I’ll be fine alone,” she finished simply. She really needed to find Choi.

She stepped out into the courtyard, walking slowly towards the palace. The last time she had seen Biyu and Akari had been last night, before she had snuck out of the palace. Had that meant that the Dai Li had entered her chambers at some point during the night only to see her empty bed? Ursa changed her course to her rooms, pulling open the doors quickly, and shutting them equally as fast.

She wasn’t sure how much the Dai Li had found out about what she had done last night. While there was no outward sign of her room being disturbed, Ursa knew better than to take it at face value. Moving to her trunk, she opened the hidden compartment, noting with relief that the mask and her blades were still there. But for how long would they be safe?

There was an easy way to eliminate suspicion, Ursa mused, looking sadly at the mask in her hands. Feeling oddly guilty, she lit the mask on fire, watching as it burned to ashes that slipped through her palm. Scooping up as much of the ashes as she could, Ursa opened the window and released them into the air. 

Grimacing, she strapped on the stilettos and throwing knives. There was no easy way to burn them and discard the evidence--they would be safest with her. Moments after strapping the last of the blades to her legs, the door to her room swung open, revealing a Dai Li guard. 

“Her Majesty requests your presence in the throne room,” the guard ordered. 

Ursa subtly moved her feet into a defensive stance. “Actually, I was supposed to take lunch with Ambassador Choi--”

One of the guards stepped forward. “He’s with the queen.” It was a threat.

Realizing she was cornered, Ursa relaxed her stance and nodded sharply. “Very well. Take me to them.”

The Dai Li marched her to the throne room, where the Earth Queen sat upon her throne, smiling smugly at Ursa. “What is the meaning of this?” Ursa demanded. “Why am I being treated like a prisoner? This--”

“I think a better question might be--where were you last night?” Hou-Ting smirked, steepling her fingers.

Ursa remained silent, focusing on controlling her heartbeat. Her great-aunt had taught her how to lie to an earthbender. “Why were you in my rooms? Where are my guards?”

“This is my palace! I go where I want. Unsurprising that Fire Nation Royalty would think that they own every room they step into, however.”

Ursa bit her lip to prevent herself from snapping back a response. She was clearly outnumbered--there must have been at least ten Dai Li in the room alongside her--and of course, if she could see ten, it meant that there were at least twenty more. “Where are my guards? And where is Ambassador Choi?”

“Last night, your guards proved to be quite a hassle. Firebenders have such a violent temperament. As for Ambassador Choi, he is on his way back to the Fire Nation, bringing news to your mother of your desire to travel through the Earth Kingdom--to strengthen diplomatic ties.”

“Impossible. He wouldn’t have left me--we spoke just this morning--”

“He finalized the trade deal. There was no reason for him to linger.” The Earth Queen narrowed her eyes. “What did you do last night?”

“Why is it of any importance to you?” Ursa asked coolly. 

The Earth Queen sneered. “I could care less what pathetic princesses do in their free time--but I do care what you might run home and tell your mother. Little girls often...misunderstand certain situations.”

By now, Ursa was certain she wouldn’t be allowed to escape this situation. “There is nothing to misunderstand. You’ve been capturing airbenders for use in your own private army--even children. There is no honor in--”

“The Fire Nation and honor! Bah!” The Earth Queen snapped. “I need--”

“To return the airbenders to their homes. I can’t believe you think you can get away with keeping them from their families. They will get found soon--Ba Sing Se is large, yes, but you underestimate the perseverance of your subjects.”

“As if you know my subjects better than I do!”

“Where are they?” Ursa countered. “You cannot possibly expect to hold them for long, can you? Once they are trained, what’s going to stop them from turning on you? You have stolen them away from their homes to serve you--they owe you nothing.”

Hou-Ting sneered. “If you want to know where they are so badly, you can stay with them!” She motioned to the Dai Li, who grabbed each of Ursa’s arms. “Get her out of my sight!”

Ursa was torn. On one hand, she could fight her way out of the situation--but then what? She would most likely be badly hurt. If she went along with them, at least she’d be able to find out where the airbenders were. 

They began to march her out of the room. “Guards,” Hou-Ting called suddenly. “Secrecy is of the utmost importance, do you understand?”

Ursa did’t hear their response, as she suddenly felt a flash of pain on the back of her head before everything went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

When Ursa came to, she was met with the sight of a young boy peering curiously at her. His hair was shaved on the sides, and his bright green eyes watched her curiously. “What are you in here for?”

“Where am I?” Ursa countered, attempting to rise to her feet. She sat back down immediately, as stars burst over her vision. She made to rub at her forehead only to realize that her hands were encased in rock behind her back.

“You’re new then? Welcome to the hole.” He sat back against the wall.

“Is this…” Ursa winced as another stabbing pain shot through her head. “Is this where the airbenders are?” 

In response, he shot a blast of air next to her, making her hair fly back. Her hair--“Am I...wearing something in my hair?” Ursa asked him cautiously. 

He gave her a strange look. “No…”

Ursa fumed, exhaling smoke from her nostrils. “That rock-faced…” She trailed off angrily. She couldn’t believe Hou-Ting had dared to take her headpiece. 

“Woah,” The boy stepped closer to her. “You’re a firebender, aren’t you? Probably some noble,” he nodded at her robes. 

“That’s right. I--” Should she introduce herself as a princess? But what sort of a princess was she, to get herself captured in a cell, caught by the oldest trick in the book? Of course Hou-Ting wouldn’t show a semblance of decency in this when she didn’t bother to show it in her day-to-day life. Ursa shouldn’t have presumed that she would be treated respectfully. Perhaps this boy was a spy--even if not, there was no harm in being cautious. “I’m Ursa,” Ursa said finally.

The boy nodded. “Kai,” he introduced. 

Kai...the name rung a bell. “You were traveling with the Avatar, weren’t you?”

Kai perked up, “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“I spoke to Jinora at the palace. She mentioned you.”

“Oh,” Kai turned his head away, but not before Ursa caught the blush rising to his cheeks. She hid a smile. “Wait--Jinora said she was going to break me out soon. Is this part of the plan?”

“She did? Good.” Ursa said, before comprehending his second question. “Er...no, it isn’t. Just an unfortunate coincidence.” She paused, thinking for a moment. “But we can help make the rescue a bit easier for them. Do you think you can break my hands out of the rock?”

He frowned and came closer. “Maybe. I’m still pretty new at this airbender stuff.”

“Well we’ve got time, haven’t we?” Ursa asked rhetorically. He smiled slightly.

()

After a while, Kai had finally managed to break the rock off of her hands. Ursa flexed her fingers, producing a small flame in the palm of her hand. “If I was chi-blocked, it must have worn off,” she noted, pleased. 

“Woah! Blue fire?”

“It’s sort of a family trademark. Anyways,” Ursa said hastily. “Let’s come up with a plan. I can break that door open easily--but we won’t know what type of situation we’re walking into if I do that. Or, we could wait for someone to open the door and then overwhelm them. I’m leaning towards the second option.”

Kai agreed, and they fell into a comfortable silence. “So...why are you in here?” Ursa asked.

He shrugged. “I stopped another airbender from getting hit with an earth disk. Dai Li didn’t like that, so here I am.”

“Of course they wouldn’t want to foster camaraderie,” Ursa mused. “It would only make it easier for you to revolt.”

Kai snorted. “Yeah right. We’re surrounded by earth--if we tried anything at all, we’d be crushed. Literally.”

“I don’t know about that…” Ursa’s voice trailed off as the door swung open. 

“Come on, we’re getting you...Princess?” Mako’s voice trailed off into a question.

“Princess?” Kai turned to her in surprise. 

“Yes, I was...I made a foolish error.” Ursa muttered, embarrassed. 

“Kai!” Jinora cried, pushing past Mako and Bolin to give him a huge hug. She kissed his cheek, causing him to turn red. 

“Whoa! Tenzin's not gonna be happy about this!” Bolin cried. 

Ursa cleared her throat. “I don’t suppose either of you have seen the Ambassador recently?”

“I thought he left this morning. Actually we thought you’d left with him!” Bolin admitted.

“Thanks for coming to get me. I'm really sorry about stealing your wallets, and running away, and getting you stuck on that train.” Kai said quickly. Ursa raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Kai looked away from her inquiring stare.

Bolin sighed. “Ahh it’s okay. We can’t stay mad at you.”

“Yes we can! I had a lot of money in that wallet.” Mako protested.

“Guys, c’mon!” Jinora slipped out of the doorway, and the rest of them followed her. As they rounded the corner, they ran into four Dai Li. 

“Deserting Her Majesty's army is high treason. Punishable by death!” The four men bent rock gloves at them. 

Ursa smashed through hers with a flaming kick. “Really? A glove? My great-aunt could do better than this!” To be fair, Azula was a terror, no matter her age but still--the Dai Li were terribly slow.

She followed the kick up with fire fists, before dropping to the ground and sending a wave of fire at their feet. Next to her, Mako and Bolin fought off the other Dai Li. One of the agents sent a rock glove in Jinora’s direction, catching her and pulling her towards him. Ursa hesitated, unwilling to harm the girl to pass. 

Kai blasted him with air, knocking him away and freeing Jinora. “I guess I am as good as I thought,” he smirked. 

Ursa rolled her eyes, frowning as she heard the pounding of feet behind them. “Come on!” She took off in a sprint towards the end of the corridor, skidding out the door as she ran down the steps. 

“WE NEED HEEEELP!” Bolin shrieked. Ursa turned to see that some of the Dai Li had risen on top of stone pillars behind them. 

She turned away as they shot rocks in her direction. There was no way they could make it. She skidded to a stop. “I’ll hold them off--keep running!” Ursa ordered. The Avatar and the airbenders were important--they were the ones that had to get away from the Queen.

“What--” Bolin protested, breaking off as he dodged another rock. Ursa slammed her foot on the ground and raised her arms, raising a wall of fire to burn the rocks. From the corner of her eye, she saw Bolin raise a pillar of earth to launch himself, Mako, Jinora and Kai into the sky and onto the sky bison. For a moment, Ursa debated whether or not to join them--but then quickly pushed the idea aside. They needed someone to cover them on the ground--and Ursa needed to know what had happened to Biyu, Akari and Choi.

Pushing her arms forward, she raised the fire to match the height of the Dai Li’s towers, arms trembling with the effort of keeping it contained--she hadn’t bended fire of this scale in months-- before pushing it in their direction, feeling a combination of disgust and pride as the fire melted the floor beneath it. Ursa knew fire was the most destructive of all of the elements, and as a little girl, special emphasis had been placed on training her to control her fire--how best to fight with it without burning anyone or anything. Despite this, Ursa could not help the pride that jolted through her at the sight of how powerful her fire was--so easily able to overwhelm everything around it. Yet she felt disgust too, at herself, for even thinking such thoughts. Ursa relinquished her control over the fire, watching as it turned from blue to orange as it moved towards the Dai Li.

As she raised her head, Ursa noted that the sky bison was circling around her. “Go!” She shouted, aiming a rather pathetic ball of fire a few feet away from it. The fire startled the sky bison, and the Avatar seemed to get her message, for the bison turned around and began flying. Ursa used her fire to propel herself towards the queen, dodging rocks sent by the Dai Li. Landing lightly on her feet, Ursa sent wave after wave of fire at the Dai Li, flipping and dodging to avoid their attacks. 

“Where are they?” Ursa demanded, in between pants. She knew the queen could hear her--she hoped for an answer. She couldn’t keep this up for long. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hou-Ting said imperiously, though Ursa could see she was nervous.

“Where are my guards and where is Ambassador Choi?” Ursa demanded, grunting slightly as a rock clipped her shoulder. She was not as well-versed in combat as she could’ve been--her mother had always insisted on her learning more defensive styles of firebending--and the little combative knowledge she had was from her great-aunt, who had often stressed total destruction of her opponents, which Ursa was unwilling to do.

A wave of fire came precariously close to the queen. “The Ambassador is on his way back to the Fire Nation—as he believes that is where you have gone. Your guards are dead.”

“What?” Ursa shrieked. For a moment, the fire coming from her hands disappeared completely, before doubling in strength. “You lie!”

Hou-Ting sneered. “And why would I do that?”

Ever since she was a little girl, Ursa had been taught to not let her bending get mixed up with her emotions. Volatile emotions produced volatile bending--and volatile bending was when people started getting hurt. Ursa had been good at keeping the two separate, usually. But now...she couldn’t.

Fire blasted out of her hands with such force that it began to drive the Dai Li, who had put up earthen shields, back. Ursa was sweating terribly and her arms were trembling, but the fire inside her only grew. She took a step forward, forcing the Dai Li back a few. And another, and another. “Why?” Ursa asked, her voice cracking slightly. “Why?” Biyu and Akari had guarded her since childhood--Ursa loved them like family. 

“They were in the way.” The queen responded callously. For a moment, Ursa’s tumultuous thoughts cleared, pierced by a shard of sharp anger. With a shoving motion, her fire burned through the Dai Li’s walls, sending them scrambling, the Earth Queen with them. But Ursa trapped her in a circle of fire as her guards fled. “What are you going to do?” She asked, fear in her voice as Ursa stepped forward, fire in each palm of her hand. “Kill me?”

For a terrible moment, Ursa was tempted. Then reality came crashing down onto her, extinguishing the fire in her hands and making her take a step back to survey the destruction--destruction that she had caused, in shock. What had she almost done? How could she have let herself become so...monstrous?

Ursa swallowed, stepping closer to the queen, feeling a pang of guilt and disgust as she stepped back in obvious fear. “You will not tell anyone what really happened here.” Ursa ordered, easily slipping back into her role as a princess. Orders had always come naturally to her. “As soon as I leave, you will have the Dai Li fix the stones, fix the buildings, everything. It’ll be as if I wasn’t here at all. And, you’ll give me back my headpiece.”

“Why would I do that?” The queen demanded with false bravado.

Ursa lit another flame in her hand, silencing the screams of her conscience. Aunt Azula had always told her to do what was necessary. “Because if you don’t, I really will kill you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! I went back and forth on this chapter for a very long time...at first, I had Ursa join Korra in Zaofu, but I didn't think that would do justice to her character--so I ended this way instead:)


	5. Chapter 5

Ursa felt queasy. What was wrong with her? How could she have so utterly disregarded all of her teachings, her moral compass? In that moment, before she had snapped back to reality, Ursa had truly contemplated hurting the Earth Queen. Perhaps not killing--well, she hoped not, at least, but...she couldn’t be sure. And that was what scared her the most. 

She was a diplomat, not a warrior! How was she any better than her ancestors? Senseless violence was never the answer--in all her training, even her Aunt Azula had stressed the importance of a cunning mind and conflict avoidance, and she was the most ruthless person Ursa knew. 

Where could she go now? She hadn’t had time to speak with Korra to find out where she was going, but...she did vaguely recall Tenzin saying that he would be heading to the Northern Air Temple to train new airbenders. She would go there--though the Fire Nation would make the most sense. Ursa wasn’t sure if she could face her mother after what she had nearly done. After...after getting Biyu and Akari killed. But that wasn’t something she was ready to let herself think about yet--she knew the second she did, she would crumble. And at the moment, that was something she could not afford.

From Hou-Ting’s palace, Ursa had managed to pack a bag with a few of her simpler clothes, including her all-black attire and her headpiece. She still had the blades strapped to her, but she desperately wished for her mask.

Living in the palace had provided her with little knowledge of Ba Sing Se, so Ursa went to the only place she knew to find aid--the Lower Ring. The sun was rising by the time she dropped into the Lower Ring, and the streets were beginning to get busy. But there was one problem--Ursa had no idea what teashop Jin had meant. It seemed that every corner she turned had a teashop on it.

And as the sun was rising, Ursa had lost the cover offered by the shadows, and her all-black attire stuck out like a sore thumb. Already, she could see that she was attracting suspicious glances. It was only a matter of time before someone reported her to the Dai Li. And for all her bravado facing the queen yesterday night--or perhaps early this morning, Ursa doubted she’d be able to replicate her efforts. She was exhausted, now, and she knew that if the Earth Queen captured her this time, she wouldn’t be able to escape. Not with the information she had learned.

Lost in her thoughts, Ursa did not notice a guard approach her. “Trouble, miss?” Ursa took a moment to scan his uniform, noting that he seemed to be a normal guard with no affiliation to the Dai Li, before putting on her sweetest smile. 

“No, I’m just a little lost,” she laughed lightly, watching in relief as his shoulders relaxed. They were in broad daylight, which meant that Ursa wouldn’t be able to escape easily.

“Ah, yes. It’s a big city. What are you looking for?” He asked kindly.

Ursa blanked. A teashop in the Lower Ring sounded like a pathetically horrible thing to say--especially since they were standing only a few paces away from one, but what else did she have? “I’m looking for--”

“Rin! There you are! I told you to wait for me!” An old woman interjected, hobbling towards them on a wooden cane. “Children these days--always so impatient. Running off without your own grandmother,” she shook her head disapprovingly. 

Ursa gave her a strange look. Perhaps the old woman was senile, and had mistaken her for her own granddaughter? The sharp jab and pointed glare Ursa received once she reached them told her otherwise. The woman’s eyes were sharp and clever. “My apologies, grandmother. I got...lost.”

“Another reason why you should have stayed close to me! I might be old, but I know this city like the back of my hand.” The old woman reprimanded harshly, before turning back to the officer. “I apologize on behalf of my granddaughter, officer. She’s new to the city--she always ends up finding herself in places she shouldn’t be. It’s why her mother sent her here to me.”

The officer nodded understandingly, throwing Ursa a sympathetic glance. “Ahhh I understand. She wasn’t in any trouble--just looked a little lost, that’s all. Good day, ladies.” He nodded to them before walking away.

Ursa turned towards the woman. “What--”

“Hush!” She snapped, grabbing Ursa’s wrist and dragging her along. “The streets have ears here. We can speak further in my shop.”

Ursa frowned, twisting her wrist away from the woman. “Look, I appreciate what you did, but I really must get out of the city soon.”

The woman scoffed. “Get out of the city? Haven’t you heard, girl? Ba Sing Se is under lockdown until further notice. No one gets in or goes out.”

“What? Why?” Ursa demanded, though she had an inkling already.

“The Avatar and her friends are wanted for high treason against the Earth Queen.” The woman threw her a look. 

Well, honestly speaking, Ursa wasn’t sure if she was friends with the Avatar. They hadn’t spent too much time together, and the little time they had spent in each other’s company was in their official positions.

“I have nothing to do with that,” Ursa defended.

“Right. And I’m a turtleduck. Look, as much as I enjoy standing around outside doing nothing, it’s broad daylight, and your clothing isn’t doing you any favors in the sneaking around department.” Ursa glanced down at her black clothing, grimacing as she realized that she was, in fact, attracting strange looks.

“I’m not--”

“Save it. Follow me,” the woman ordered, turning around and walking in the direction of what Ursa presumed to be her shop. Left with no choice and no teashop, Ursa followed.

The woman’s shop turned out to be a rather nice building--it seemed relatively well kept, a rarity in the Lower Ring. The woman turned around to face Ursa, smiling. “Good, good. You followed.” Using a key, she unlocked the door. 

Ursa paused for a moment to read the sign above the building. “This is an apothecary? You...you’re a doctor? A healer?” She asked dubiously. Nothing about the woman’s abrasive demeanor had suggested that this was her profession. 

“Something like that,” she waved her hand in the air, stepping through the door. Ursa hesitated at the entryway. What was she doing, following a strange woman into her home? For all Ursa knew, she was working for the queen.

The woman picked up on her hesitance, smiling. “Well, at least you aren’t that stupid. You can come in--it’s safe, you know. If I’d wanted you dead, Princess Ursa, you would be dead.”

Ursa froze. The woman had to be with the queen. How else could she have known her name? Ursa took a step backwards as the old woman chuckled. “Relax. I’m an old friend of your grandfather’s--I helped him hunt his uncle and the Avatar.”

Ursa raised her eyebrow in surprise. That meant that this old lady must have been…”Jun the bounty hunter,” she breathed in surprise. Jun’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled at Ursa. 

“Clever girl. You must get it from your grandmother. Your grandfather was one of the most foolish teenagers I have ever met. Come inside--we’ll have some tea.”


	6. Chapter 6

“So…” Ursa said carefully over a cup of steaming tea. “How did you end up here? I would have assumed that you would choose to settle in the Upper Ring if you came to Ba Sing Se--or at least, the Middle Ring. From what I heard, you made good money.”

The old woman smirked. “Exactly. You would have expected me to live anywhere but the Lower Ring--just like others. The Lower Ring is the best place to hide.”

“So you’re in hiding?” Ursa questioned.

Jun shrugged. “Hiding, retirement--it’s all the same, really.” She looked around her house. “Besides, I don’t think I’m doing too bad for myself here. I like it.”

Ursa nodded, taking in the clean, new interior of the woman’s house--she lived above her shop, which was also clean and well-kept. It even smelled nice--a true rarity for the Lower Ring. “So...what is it you do?”

“I’m a herbalist.” Jun said calmly, raising her eyebrow slightly at the incredulous expression on Ursa’s face. “But...I also work with poisons.” Ursa stared down at her tea cup in horror, causing Jun to chuckle. “Don’t worry, princess. I wouldn’t poison the tea--but it is good to be on your guard.”

“Right, of course.” Ursa pushed her teacup away from her and gave Jun a weak smile, resolving to carefully examine everything she ate in the future. “Anyways, thank you for your hospitality, but I really should be planning to leave--”

“Didn’t you hear me girl? You can’t leave Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li have closed down all points of entry.” 

“I’m sure there must be a way out of the city--at least, I’m sure I can find one.” 

“I doubt even the Blue Spirit could,” Jun said offhandedly, narrowing her eyes at Ursa.

Ursa froze. Jun could not possibly--there was no way--but she had known both her grandparents--and she seemed to know more than she should. “Besides,” Jun continued. “There are still airbenders locked away in captivity--” she caught Ursa’s surprised look and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t really think the Earth Queen would keep all her eggs in one basket, did you?”

“There are more?” Ursa asked incredulously. She certainly couldn’t leave now--it was her duty to free them, her destiny, as penance for her ancestors' crimes, which still hung heavily upon her shoulders. 

“But of course. Do you truly think the Earth Queen will stop what she’s doing solely because of one setback? If anything, I think she would speed things up—so that she might have an army ready by the time the international community learns of her actions.”

“Do you...would you happen to know where the Earth Queen is holding these airbenders?” Ursa asked carefully.

Jun smirked. “No, but I do have something that I think would interest you.” She stood and walked to a desk, pulling open a drawer and taking out a rolled up poster. She handed it to Ursa.

Ursa unrolled it, pausing as the title came into view. “Love Amongst the Dragons,” she read, frowning. “This is a Fire Nation play.” Before her mother had become the Fire Lord, every year, her family had gone to Ember Island to watch the Ember Island players perform Avatar Aang’s victory against Fire Lord Ozai. The actors completely ruined the play each year--but her grandfather was incredibly fond of it, despite his character being among the most foolishly portrayed. Needless to say, Ursa was not fond of plays.

Jun smirked. “Roll it open all the way.” Ursa rolled it open slowly, uncertain of what the old woman wanted her to do. Her eyes widened as she took in the poster. There was a man, dressed in all red, and beside him was a woman clothed in blue. But behind them both...was the Blue Spirit. “The play is being performed at our local community center. It’s a unique event--for rather than a troup performing it for us, locals are encouraged to audition for the roles. Auditions are being held in two days.”

“The Dark Water Spirit,” Ursa read softly. If she auditioned for the role, and got the part, then she would most certainly have access to the costume--more specifically, the mask. Then, she could do some reconnaissance of her own to find out where the airbenders were being held. “Two days? Where is the community center?” 

Jun smiled, rising to her feet slowly. “I’ll show you. I suppose you’ll need to get accustomed to the city anyways--we can walk there from here.”

Ursa rose to her feet, eager to leave, but Jun stopped her with a hand. “First, how about you change?” She glanced at Ursa’s clothing pointedly.

()

A few minutes later, Ursa walked arm in arm with Jun to the community center, adjusting her clothes uncomfortably. Jun had lent her a simple dress and a wide brimmed straw hat to wear. The dress was scratchy and uncomfortable against Ursa’s skin, a startling contrast to the cool silk she normally wore. And, as they walked to the center, it seemed a few years out of style. A few girls giggled at Ursa as she passed, and Ursa pulled the hat down lower over her head, raising her hand to her hair, which was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. She fought down self-consiousness. She was a princess, for Agni’s sake! And very grateful for Jun’s clothing besides.

“Ahhh, here it is!” They had reached the community center, which was a large, new-looking building. A crowd seemed to be gathered around it.

“It’s very nice,” Ursa said curiously.

“Yes, a patron from the Upper Ring decided to construct it here--to, ah, educate the masses in the arts.”

“That’s incredibly progressive for Ba Sing Se.” They moved closer to the crowd. Ursa rose onto the tips of her toes to see what everyone seemed to be crowding around. It seemed to be a larger version of the poster Jun had showed her--there was also a table in front of it, and the people sitting at the table seemed to be the ones attracting all of the attention.

“Hmmm it appears that they want people to sign up for their audition--the turnout is far larger than expected.” Jun mused. “Why don’t you go wait in line, dear? I’m going to go speak with some of my friends.” Jun patted Ursa’s hand and left before she could utter a word of protest. For an old woman, she moved startlingly fast.

Reluctantly, Ursa slipped into line behind a group of rowdy boys, pulling her hat down lower over her face. Subtly, she looked around. The majority of the people in line seemed to be her age, and of both genders. Many of them seemed to be wearing their best clothes, even though today wasn’t the day of the audition. She supposed she could understand wanting to make a good first impression. She looked down at her dress with a sigh, tugging on a sleeve. If only she could have worn her Blue Spirit clothing.

“Obviously, I’m auditioning for the Dark Water Spirit,” a very familiar voice said from in front of her. Ursa glanced up to see Ryu’s very familiar, very smug face. He was in the center of the group of boys, his arms spread wide. He was not so subtly glancing to the right. Ursa followed his gaze to a pretty girl in green, who was paying him no attention. She watched him deflate slightly, and bit back a smile. Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation, some things never changed.

One of the boys with Ryu snorted. Ursa recognized him as being the earthbender that had let her and Meng into the chamber. “Maybe say it a little louder, Ryu. I’m not sure if Lian heard you.”

Ryu shoved the boy. “Shut up Bao!” He hissed, glancing towards the girl again--Ursa assumed she was Lian.

“What makes you so sure you’ll get it?” One of the other boys asked snidely. 

Ryu puffed out his chest. “Well, I’m obviously the best suited for the role. Besides--” he dropped his voice. “I’ve met the actual Blue Spirit.”

The boy snorted. “Yeah right.”

“I did! He was incredible,” Ryu said dreamily. “He flicked his wrist and the knives--” Ursa tuned him out, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She crossed her arms against her stomach.

“So, what are you signing up for?” It took Ursa a moment to realize that the question was directed at her by the girl behind her. Ursa turned to face her slowly. She wore a haughty expression on her face that suggested she was attempting to look down her nose at Ursa--a difficult endeavor, as Ursa was almost a half a head taller than she was. She attempted to peer under Ursa’s hat, but Ursa ducked her head to cover her face.

She shrugged. “ I’m thinking of going for the role of the Dark Water Spirit--”

The girl began to laugh. “Oh, you are funny, aren’t you! I suppose feminine roles wouldn’t suit you anyways, what with your height and all. Are you even literate?”

Confused, Ursa couldn’t even be offended. She was two inches short of six feet--tall for a woman. But what did her ability to read have to do with her height? “Pardon?”

“Did you even read the casting call? They’re looking for young men to play the role of the Blue Spirit.” Ursa’s blood ran cold. Jun hadn’t mentioned that detail--perhaps she hadn’t even known. How was she supposed to get the mask now? She squeezed her hands into fists. The girl noticed, and patted her arm sympathetically. “There, there. There are plenty of other roles for you! I’m going for the role of the Dragon Empress. Once they see my talent, they’ll take me on. I’m sure they’ll let you be my servant or something. I’m Aiko, by the way.”  
“Rin,” Ursa said faintly. She had never even washed her own clothes. 

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry! I won’t have them put you in an ugly costume. I mean, whatever they have for you can’t be worse than what you’re already wearing.”

But Ursa was hardly paying attention. Costume. She didn’t know much about plays, but didn’t actors share dressing rooms? That would give her easy access to costumes for sure.

“Do you think that the actors are able to see each other’s costumes?” Ursa asked Aiko abruptly. 

Aiko gave her a strange look. “Uh, duh! During the play, obviously.”

“That isn’t what I--I meant, before the play. During rehearsals.” 

“Well, I’d assume so. Why? Are you looking for ideas to change your own state of dress? You could certainly use it.”

Ursa narrowed her eyes, a sharp retort on the tip of her tongue. But something made her stop, and she took a moment to study Aiko critically. The way she held herself--chin high, back straight, lips pursed--it spoke of loneliness, which Ursa knew well. Her dress was nice for the Lower Ring--if Ursa had to guess, she’d say that Aiko’s family was more well-off than most of the other families in the Lower Ring, which probably led to her being ostracized amongst the more normal people of Ba Sing Se. She didn’t mean to be cruel--she just wasn’t sure how to speak to people. Girls like her weren’t uncommon amongst the nobility. Besides--Ursa was a trained diplomat who rarely lost her temper--she wasn’t about to let some Earth Kingdom girl get on her nerves.

“Something like that,” she said lightly, turning away. Just because she sympathized with the girl didn’t mean she had to subject herself to her presence. “I wish you the best of luck.” Fortunately, it was her turn to step up to the table, and she was able to ignore Aiko’s indignant huff.

“Hello,” the man at the table looked bored out of his mind. “Who are you signing up to audition for?”

“Er…” the truth was, the only roles Ursa knew about were the Dragon Empress and the Dark Water Spirit. But obviously, she couldn’t audition for the Dark Water Spirit anymore. “The Dragon Empress,” she said decisively.

The man snorted, “That’s my twentieth Dragon Empress today. And your name?”

“Rin,” Ursa said finally. This made the man look up at her in surprise, revealing golden-brown eyes that could only come from the Fire Nation. He looked to be only a couple years older than she was.

“That’s a Fire Nation name,” he looked surprised. “My first one today.” Ursa pulled her hat lower. If he was Fire Nation, there was a chance he could recognize her--but, she wasn’t photographed much, and often, when she was, it was with a face full of makeup and her headpiece--which she obviously wasn’t wearing now.

“My father was from the Fire Nation,” Ursa said finally. “I was born there.”

He gave her a sympathetic look. “And you ended up here, huh? That’s a real tragedy.”

Ursa caught herself nodding. In the Fire Nation, even in the poorest villages, the air was fresh and clean, the environment lush green, and there was often a body of water. “Yes...it’s certainly a change.”

He nodded at her hat. “No wonder you wear that--the air here is filthy. And the sun...it’s different from home, isn’t it?”

Ursa hesitated, before pushing her hat up, revealing her face. This was a test--if one of her own countrymen couldn’t recognize her, then she doubted anyone in the Lower Ring would. “Yes,” she said finally. “It is.” She guessed he was a non-bender--because all types of sun felt good to her.

His eyes widened as he took in her face, and Ursa’s heart skipped a beat. He flushed a little, “Um...I hope you get the part. You know, because you--” She relaxed. He hadn’t recognized her.

“Hide! Stop flirting and keep the line moving!” A man yelled. The boy, Hide, flushed darker.

“R-Right. Anyways, good luck. It’s always nice to see a familiar face,” he offered her a weak smile. 

Taking pity on him, Ursa smiled back, taking the slip of paper he offered with her audition time. “Thanks.”

As she walked back to Jin, she pulled her hat off, reveling in the heat of the sun upon her face. There was little chance of anyone realizing who she was anyways.


	7. Chapter 7

“If only they let an audience watch the auditions,” Jun lamented. “Ahh, normally those are even better than the actual play. It’s hilarious watching kids who think they can act.” In the two days that Ursa had been staying with Jun, she had come to realize that the woman seemed to only have two modes: sarcastic and sardonic. 

“I’m worried I’ll be one of them. I really need that part,” Ursa said grimly. The lives of many airbenders in Ba Sing Se depended upon it. She had considered attempting to scout the area without her mask--but if she ran across the Dai Li, they would know who she was in a heartbeat, and then any chance she had of saving any of the airbenders would be null and void.

Jun snorted. “You’re a princess auditioning for the role of an empress--not really much difference between the two positions if you ask me. I’d be surprised if you didn’t get it.”

“I just wish that I could’ve auditioned for the role of the Dark Water Spirit. I would have been good at that for sure.” Ursa knew that Jun knew she was the Blue Spirit, though the woman had never said it out loud--she seemed to know a lot of things.

“Your ancestors would’ve rolled in their graves.” Jun said dryly.

“Actually, in the Fire Nation, we burn--”

“It was just an expression. Now go! Or else you’ll be late.”

Ursa gave Jun a terse nod and slipped out of the door. Though she no longer wore the hat, she kept her chin tucked close to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around her. The less attention she drew, the better. She made it to the center quickly. After checking in at the front, Ursa headed inside.

She was pleased to see that the inside was equally as lovely as the outside. The auditorium was filled with seats--all of which were empty. However, the front of the auditorium was bustling with activity. Five men and women were seated at a high table overlooking the stage, while bunches of people lingered at the foot of it. Ursa caught sight of Ryu in the crowd and decided that this was probably where she had to wait to get called up onstage.

She slipped into the crowd to watch the audition in progress. A boy who looked to be around Korra’s height had been paired with the girl Ursa remembered Ryu staring at--Lian.

“Though I was trapped in the body of a mortal, you willingly gave me your heart! I cannot help but give you mine in return!” The boy said passionately. Ursa raised an eyebrow, impressed. This boy seemed to have more talent than all of the silly Ember Island Players put together. Though she had heard him utter only a single line, the passion and conviction with which he had spoken convinced her he was meant for the role--which was ridiculous, considering she hardly even knew what the play was about. 

“Only with your glory hidden in false form could you recognize my devotion!” Lian said--shouted, really, though Ursa thought she still lacked the passion that the boy had had. Or perhaps she had too much--and too little other emotion. Still, they were difficult lines to read well. As auditions progressed, Ursa began to see them for what they were--a game. A game of words--of lies. After all, an actor had to pretend that they were someone else on stage--they had to lie to the audience--and to themselves, to convince those around them that they deserved the part.

That, Ursa could do. Her great-aunt had taught her how to lie to earthbenders--it would be all too simple to convince this audience that she deserved this role--she was a diplomat! Unofficially, but really, that was what her role as a princess ultimately was. In order to successfully pull it off, all she had to do was believe that she deserved the role--and though she didn’t think she deserved it, she needed it. Not for her sake, but for others. 

When her name was called, she walked confidently to the stage, head high and shoulders back, despite her old dress. She knew the importance of first impressions, but more importantly, of confidence. She was opposite a boy around her height, who was fidgeting nervously. She already knew that he wouldn’t make the cut--but she sympathized with his plight. The poor boy had obviously never been on a stage before and his fear was understandable. While Ursa had never exactly stood on a physical stage like this one, she had lived her life on a mental one, as her role of princess had never kept her far from the public’s eye.

“Man I may be, b-but that does not mean that I s-shall accept this food, peasant. I-I am from fire itself, older than the first of your line.” The scene they were acting out was a few days after the Dragon Emperor had been cursed by the Dark Water Spirit. However, he had still not come to terms with it--and the lines should have been said with arrogance and pride, not timidity, as the boy had stated them.

“You are but a simple man,” Ursa said scornfully, looking down her nose at him. “Who has naught but the clothes on his back. You are no god, Noren, and your foolish delusions have no place here.” Ursa made her voice sharp, like the crack of a whip, and the boy flinched back from her. She opened her mouth to continue, but was cut off by a judge.

“Chengpu, you are dismissed. Rin--stay. ” One of the judges, an old man with a round belly, called. “Chan, join her onstage.” The boy who had performed with Lian joined Ursa, standing opposite her in the place where Chengpu had stood before. 

“From the beginning,” the judge ordered. 

Chan nodded at the judge before turning to face Ursa. “Man I may be, but that does not mean that I shall accept this food, peasant. I am from fire itself! Far older than the first of your line.” He read dramatically. 

“You are but a simple man,” Ursa said coldly. “Who has naught but the clothes on his back. You are no god, Noren, and your foolish delusions have no place here. Accept the food...or starve.” She raised an eyebrow at Chan, who glared back.

“Wonderful!” The judge called. “Wonderful, wonderful. It appears we have found our Empress and Emperor! Spread the word that they have been casted.”

“What?” A girl demanded indignantly. “But tryouts aren’t even over yet! There are still a lot of other people who wanted to try out for those parts!” It was Aiko. Ursa grimaced internally. 

The judge frowned at her. “Us five judges are in agreement…do you really think you could do better than that, girl? Better off that you audition for another role.”

Aiko scowled, first at the judge, then at Ursa. “I thought you didn’t even want the part! You said you wanted to be the Blue Spirit!” 

Chan snorted, while the judge looked at Ursa in confusion. “That role is meant to be played by a man.” He said to her with a frown. 

Ursa refused to let her embarrassment show. “I didn’t know that at the time. I used to…erm, I really enjoy the martial arts. And I thought the Blue Spirit would be heavily influenced by them, so I...wanted to audition for the role.” 

The judge blinked at her, before beaming. “Well, I’m glad you chose to audition for this one anyways. Fantastic performance! There are few people who are so naturally commanding onstage--both of you.” He looked between her and Chan.

“Thank you,” Ursa said graciously, and Chan repeated the sentiments.

“I expect to see both of you here bright and early tomorrow morning! Now, go home and rest.”

“When will we get to see our costumes?” Ursa questioned. “So that I can, uh, draw more artistic inspiration from them.”

“Clever thinking! Unfortunately, dress rehearsals won’t start until two weeks.” Two weeks! Some of Ursa’s apprehension must have shown on her face, for the judge interjected quickly. “But I'll see what I can do about getting the costumes here sooner.”

Ursa thanked him, before making her way down the stage. To her surprise, she was quickly mobbed by a crowd of girls. “You’re so talented,” one said, looking at her in awe.

“And so pretty,” another said.

“And you look super Fire Nation too! Are you--”

“Girls! Let’s not mob her,” a voice cut through the crowd sharply. It was Lian. She smiled at Ursa. “Sorry about that. It just isn’t often that we see new faces around our age. I’m Lian. Are you from a different part of the ring?” She started walking in the direction of the door. Ursa followed.

“Rin. Actually, I’m not from Ba Sing Se. I’m from…” Ursa paused, hesitating. She could say she was from the Fire Nation, but...it was probably safer to say that she was from the Earth Kingdom. “Kyoshi.” She said finally. She knew a lot about Kyoshi, so it was a safe choice.

“Kyoshi? With the warriors?” Lian asked curiously. “Is that why you wanted to try for the Blue Spirit? Because you were a Kyoshi Warrior?”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that.” She had trained with the Kyoshi Warriors, had worn their uniform--but she wasn’t one, and it felt wrong to claim otherwise. “I’m visiting my grandmother here.” It also felt wrong to say that—as if she was disrespecting the memory of her own grandmother, though Ursa knew that she would have told her to stop being so sentimental. As for her other grandmother—Ursa had never met her, or her grandfather on her father’s side. Her father had been an orphan.

“Really?” Lian asked curiously. “And she lives around here? What’s her name? Is it Yin? I know her grandchildren aren’t from around here either—and I think she said one of them looked Fire Nation…”

“No...I don’t actually know who that is. My grandmother’s name is Jun—she’s the—”

“The herbalist?” One of the other girls said incredulously. “I had no idea she had a granddaughter—or a family at all. She always seemed to be more of a loner type. I’m Mei-Yin, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you. And er…she wanted some company? It’s not….that great being alone all the time.” Ursa grimaced after her statement—it was far too personal, and there were about a thousand other things she could have said instead. 

Luckily, the girl seemed to understand. “Hmmm yes, it would get pretty boring. These are Zhu and Seiko by the way.” She gestured to the other two girls who were walking with them, who smiled at Ursa upon their introduction.

“Fantastic performance,” Zhu complemented. 

“Thank you,” Ursa smiled. She glanced up at the darkening sky. “I should be getting back to my grandmother soon.”

“We’ll walk you!” Seiko chirped. “It isn’t too far from here--and you really shouldn’t be walking anywhere alone at this time.”

“Why? I mean, is there a specific reason?”

The girls exchanged a look. “Well, there have been rumors going around about the Dai Li taking people off of the streets,” Lian revealed hesitantly. “One of my neighbors--she disappeared just a few days ago. But you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Of course,” Ursa assured quickly. But her mind was racing. “By chance...did this girl show signs of airbending?”

Lian gave her a surprised look. “Yeah, she did…”

“When was she taken?” Ursa questioned.

“Two days ago,” Lian said, looking at her strangely. Ursa clenched her hands into fists. So Jun was right--the Earth Queen was still capturing airbenders. In her mind, a muddled, foolish plan began to form--one that she knew her great aunt would curse her a thousand times for--but Ursa was reasonably certain she’d be able to pull it off. Well, probably.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading:)


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